Blogging
This day…
…four years ago, I gave in to Sankhya’s persuasion and announced that I was starting a blog. My first post is an embarrassment. But somehow, over time, this blog became my very own personal space; a space where I could rant and rave, a place where I could express my hopes, my fears, my desires, without fear of censure or criticism. I have often considered deleting this blog due to that nagging feeling that too much of me is available publicly. But, each time such a urge surfaces, I successfully fight it, because I know that there is nothing that I have said on this blog of which I need to be ashamed.
Even faced with a rather frustrating writer’s block for nearly over a month now, I have retained hopes that this blog will not die unnoticed. I have managed to keep checking it every few days for updates, comments, plugin maintenance and so on. Somehow, this has become so much a part of my life that it is hard to imagine myself without writing. Some time back, I had published a post on why I write. Today, I honestly don’t know. Somewhere along the line, I have become lethargic, pessimistic, and negative. The desire to write, to read, to publish has dimmed. So much so that I couldn’t care less about this any more. But this morning, when I woke up, there was only one thought in my head: about how much time and effort I had put in to sustain this blog, about how much it meant to me at one point. I told myself this morning that I would publish today, even if it was just a few seconds before midnight. And I intend to keep this promise. I also promise that I will be more regular henceforth. Not for anyone else, but for me. Pessimism, cynicism and negativism have no place in my life. I intend to go back to being the same bubbly self of the last 28 years. And my writing keeps me happy, creatively satisfied and motivated. I have no intentions of giving that up.
With this promise to myself, I will sign off now. A new template and a bit more colour is promised soon enough. Until then…it’s never adieu. Just au revoir!
Tagged…Reading more of each other…
Just when I was wondering how exactly to go about writing my next post, this tag by Julie came as a saviour. She points to the 7-link Challenge and requests all bloggers take this up. I would request all of you reading this to take this up as well. This is especially true for those of you who figure on my long-neglected blogroll and also for any of you who reads this blog regularly but has never commented. If you are looking for an excuse to blog, here it is! So, this is what you do. Link to posts in the following seven categories. 1) your first post, 2) the post you enjoyed writing the most, 3) a post that had a great discussion, 4) a post on someone else’s blog that you wish you had written, 5) your most helpful post, 6) a post with the title you’re most proud of, and 7) a post that you wish more people had read.
My list is here!! Hope you enjoy it. Keep visiting.
1) your first post
Ahem…stop embarrassing me! The first post was just an announcement that I have decided to start a blog! But since you asked, here it is. It’s called a Space of One’s Own. In fact, this blog was called that for over 2 years, until I decided I was bored with it.
2) the post you enjoyed writing the most
Ok…there are two. But if you want just one, I’d vote for “The Quest for the Perfect Bride.” Making fun of my friend was just too good to resist. And my! His reactions when he read it made all my effort totally worth it!
3) a post that had a great discussion
Again, two of them. The post with the maximum number of comments us on Hinduism and Mangalore’s pubs. Granted, I received a lot of unwanted attention and was even called names for this one, but I stand by every word I wrote in it. The kind of support I received on this post from bloggers and non-bloggers alike was simply overwhelming.
4) a post on someone else’s blog that you wish you had written
I discovered Meghna’s blog some time back. I loved this post. But, when I learnt she was just 12 years old (now 13) at the time, I wished I could write at least half as well. Sigh! Some things are not to be. 😉
5) your most helpful post
Ok! Now I think it’s this, but guys…you need to tell me if it really is! 😛
6) a post with the title you’re most proud of
Now, I am not particularly clever with titles. In fact, my posts have titles only because they feel incomplete without it. But I quite liked this.
7) a post that you wish more people had read.
Ok. I am linking to two, related posts. One, trying to demystify the US-India Nuclear Deal. The second justifying the need for nuclear energy. Both are well-researched, well-articulated posts. But somehow, nob0dy seems interested enough to comment!
And now, let me pass the baton to all those who are in my blogroll. And also to those would want to take this up. Please do link back so I know you’ve done it and I can read! So long!
On writer’s block and assorted things…
It’s been one of my longest blogging breaks to date. Not that I am proud of it, but for some reason, I find myself unable to sit down and pen my thoughts with any degree of coherence. Don’t ask me why. I have no idea. But there are some random thoughts floating around in my head that I am trying extremely hard to verbalise.
First things first, what’s this hype about Valentine’s Day? Practically everyone I knew asked me what I did for V-day and practically nobody believed me when I said I went to a temple with family! I mean, what the hell? Why can’t I not go out with someone, just because it’s Valentine’s Day? The same people who are perfectly willing to accept that I am single on the 364 other days of the year, are unwilling to believe exactly the same story on V-Day? And people say I am a cynic! Sigh!!
Then…reactions to my previous blogpost. No, I don’t really want to start a school to teach men anything at all. Personally, I can’t be bothered. I leave the teaching to the mummies. And that was supposed to be a bloody joke!! Someone actually linked to me (no, I refuse to link him back) stating that the worst advertisement for feminism is a feminist! Guys!! Where is your sense of humour? Maybe I should just take sanyas and go away to the Himalayas to meditate!
Finally, I moved my backside to change my blog template. The current one looks (I hope) a bit more colourful and cheerful than the black and white one I had previously. I changed it after lots of people, from both the real world and the virtual told me my template did not go well with the title of my blog. Apparently, the template was too dull. So, here it is…my new template! Do leave a comment on what you think about it!
And now, is time to shut up and publish. Enough incoherence already! Until next time….so long!!
Sorry Mr. Sanghvi, I am not a journalist…
…but does that mean I must not express my views, criticize the media or cry foul over its dirty games? If we were to go by what Mr. Vir Sanghvi, Editorial Director of Hindustan Times says, I am one of those “pseudonymous bloggers”, who sits in a darkened room in my ivory tower and disses all that the mainstream media does and says. He says I am part of a “blogging elite”. Well, let’s not discuss either the “pseudonymous” or the “elite” bit, but I certainly am a blogger. Even assuming I sit in a darkened room in my ivory tower and criticize, what’s wrong with that? Don’t you have armchair critics all over the world? Before I go on, check out these brilliant rebuttals by Amit Varma, Rohit, Patrix and Lekhni. Each of them has fisked, very effectively, Sanghvi’s pointless and rather incoherent rant against bloggers and tweeters. Oh yeah! Forgot to mention here that he’s done this in the form of a blogpost rather than on a column in his newspaper!!
In dissing bloggers and tweeters and categorizing them all as elitist and out of touch with reality, Sanghvi conveniently sidesteps one major issue. What exactly is the role of the traditional media? Playing to the galleries and ensuring maximum TRPs? He painstakingly explains how TRPs and circulation are calculated and says programmes with maximum TRPs on television are the ones having maximum viewership. Right! I agree. But since when did the media start pandering to the will of the majority? Isn’t it the very same media that dissects election results and criticizes the decision of the majority? And even assuming that the traditional media reflects the sentiments of the majority, is that its real role? I thought the role of the media was to shape public opinion. Oh! I beg your pardon! I never realized that somewhere along the way, news channels became entertainment channels and newspapers tabloids a long time ago.
No Mr. Sanghvi. In criticizing the traditional media, I do not, as Lekhni so rightly puts it, claim to represent anyone but myself. Anything I say in my blog, is my opinion. Others are free to agree or disagree with what I have to say. I run this blog, I pay for it and I maintain it. Unlike HT or other major newspapers, I do not claim to be the most popular, the most intelligent or the most widely-read blogger in history. I leave calculating TRPs and readership to the likes of Mr. Sanghvi. I have better things to do with my life, especially since my livelihood doesn’t depend on how many people read my blog.
Finally, in the unlikely event that you are reading this, Mr. Sanghvi, let me tell you this. I care a damn about octogenarian N D Tiwari’s sex life. Nor do I care about Mika kissing Rakhi Sawant or wild speculations about Arushi Talwar’s murder. I am concerned even less about whether Michael Douglas uses Viagra (yes…it figures on HT’s homepage today!). If your newspaper can give me real news, it’s fine. Otherwise, there’s always Google News! Clean up your stables before dissing us Mr. Sanghvi. That’s all I ask!
Why I write…
I don’t know where to start if I must answer this question. But, wait a minute? Why am I even asking myself this? Mainly because I read this post, and it triggered off a whole range of emotions and thoughts. Goofy Mumma wants to know if I would approach a well-known blogger in public. I don’t know. But, would I mind being approached? Certainly not. Goofy Mumma, like many other popular bloggers I regularly read, blogs anonymously. I certainly wouldn’t be able to recognize someone I have not seen in person. But, my thoughts at this point are somewhat different. When I started this blog, I had a choice: to choose an interesting pseudonym, or to blog under my own real name. Strangely, I never realized I had this choice in the first place until my blog had accumulated a fair number of readers, and until I started following popular bloggers, many of whom chose to remain anonymous.
Sometimes, I wish I had reflected a bit more before jumping into the fray. There have been times when I have felt like giving up blogging altogether. I have been slandered, called un-religious, characterless, and many other things for speaking my mind. I have been bogged down by these comments, felt like quitting. The fact that my parents and relatives, in addition to my Facebook friends and friends elsewhere read my blog makes it worse. There is always this nagging feeling that I am going to be judged on what I say by someone I know. Sometimes, I wonder why I chose to blog under my real name. Sometimes I feel I should just take down everything that I have written because it reveals too much of me to complete strangers. But then, I stop myself before it’s too late. I stop myself because I stand by every word I have ever written. Each word reflects a part of me, my opinions, my feelings and my reactions at a given point. Maybe being so open is a problem. This society refuses to acknowledge or accept that a woman can have such strong opinions or speak her mind about things as sensitive. But I would rather face censure for what I have to say on my blog than have to hide and lead an existence of hypocrisy. I’d much rather reveal myself to the world and be what I want to be, than pretend to be someone I am not, just to make someone else happy. Am I wrong? Am I being foolishly outspoken? Only time will tell.